Chompoo Thai

Holloway Rd is not the prettiest street in London in the best of times. And amongst an array of cheap takeaway places, there seems to be a handful of little diamonds in the rough scattered across the place. Chompoo, in my opinion is one of these, and it looks it, with its recent revamp. Bright and airy thanks to the massive windows, it stands in contrast to the others. And this is precisely why we walked in, for a pre theatre dinner,  on a warm July evening.

(Note: Holloway Rd is maybe a 15min walk from The Pleasance theatre, but it’s one of the best choices for a pre theatre meal. If you like up and coming shows starting at a mere £5, including comedy and theatre, The Pleasance is definitely worth the trip down Piccadilly line for an alternative night out)

Sat right by the window, we perused the authentic Thai cuisine menu. Sure, at 6.30pm, Chompoo is in direct contrast to the ever buzzing and eternaly busy, Pepper Tree, on the other side of town (SW4), but I don’t see why Chompoo should not become any less popular.

Satay Chicken £4.50

The service is so quick and friendly, and they are clearly passionate about the food, so much so that we were enticed to order the home made Thai pancake for dessert, but more on that later.

Pad Thai £7.50

The food was very good:  moist chicken skewers with nutty and roughly textured peanut sauce, almost refreshing but very filling Nam Sai Noodle Soup, and authentic Pad Thai.

Nam Sai Noodle Soup (rice noddles) £7.50

Traditionally broccoli was never used in Thai food, but that is being too technical, as the ingredients in this chicken broth based soup, were fresh and colourful. My preferred choice of beef, however was slightly on the tough side, in saying that, I would also have liked to see more of it. Overall, fresh, crisp flavours, and perfectly cooked spongy tofu.

Thai Pancake £4

The highlight, as pointed out previously, was the dessert. A mixture of flour and egg, coloured green, and filled with shredded coconut, sugar and sesame seeds. Served with homemade coconut ice-cream. Moist, sticky and fluffy at the same time, this was divine, I would probably travel for this across London.

In summary, if in the area go to Chompoo.

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